Just in time for the winding down of the major league baseball season, The Phenom comes to Blu-ray/DVD with a drama that’s fit for avid lovers of the sport. The psychological story has a good cast, nice direction, but the script turns an interesting plot into a theatrical two act play. The movie leaves out the guts and glory that most baseball flicks rely on for the magic that puts sports fans in the seats of a dark movie theater. Instead turns into a sob story about a rookie that loses his ability to focus on “the game”.
The story plays out in flashback after a brief introduction to the main characters. Hopper Gibson (Johnny Simmons) can throw a 98 miles per hour fast ball at the age of 18 and major league baseball scouts are lining up to see the phenomena. The number one pitching choice for this year’s draft and a chance to get into the minors before college is really big for baseball. Fame and huge pay has been assured for the young rookie and he gets it when he’s called up to the majors.
It’s been Hopper’s dream since childhood and more so for his father Hopper, Sr. (Ethan Hawke) who has pushed him with training techniques and focus. But, there’s a stroke of jealousy in Hopper, Sr. and we see him taunting the prodigy now that he’s made the big leagues. Following a bad series of pitching errors Hopper gets sent back to the minors. When psychoanalyst Dr. Mobley (Paul Giamatti) gets called in to try and figure out why Hopper has lost his mojo on the mound, major issues start to surface.
Director and writer Noah Buschel does his best to keep the film from becoming just another ho hum sports film that entertains only a segment of the movie going audience. He introduces characters each of which affect Hopper in a different way. While some are helpful to the pitcher’s ability to deliver strikes, others are distractions and even a hindrance. What I found lacking here however, is emotion and realistic sensations to the provocation that the other characters inject.
Paul Giamatti and Ethan Hawke deliver what you expect from the consummate actors. Giamatti works Dr. Mobley to the bone trying the penetrate Hopper’s mind just enough to release whatever has been bothering him. He’s been a sports psychologists for some big baseball stars and thinks he’s found a way to get Hopper to focus. But even his own failures start to prevent any real help to the boy.
But, it’s Hawke’s role of the abusive father that’s Dr. Mobley’s biggest drawback. An ex-con who lost his chance at the big show, Hopper, Sr. would like nothing more than to see his son succeed. I like this role for Hawke as we get to see some excellent acting with a lot of emotion and fire. He’s all pent up inside thinking the only way to get his son to be a big winner is to hound him and chastise him until he does it right.
As the phenom Johnny Simmons does his best to project what I can only believe director Noah Buschel wanted for his audience, a mild mannered soft spoken teen. He’s a lump of clay to be molded by those around him, from the abusive father, sports psychologist to even his girlfriend. In fact, his character gets so unemotional that it begins to become lethargic and boring. Where’s the spunk and standing up for oneself? Unfortunately not in this film’s script.
BONUS FEATURES:
“The Cast of The Phenom” each of the main characters talk about their characters and how they all relate to each other and the story.
“Behind the Scenes Stills” photographs of various scenes feature the mail characters and the production crew working with the actors.
The Phenom has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language and abusive violence. The film plays out at a slow pace, gets very heavy psychologically, and never gets any of the wow factor that most sports movies provide.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Unemotional and unimaginative (C-)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Johnny Simmons, Ethan Hawke, Paul Giamatti, Alison Elliott, Lousie Krause, Paul Adelstein, Marin Ireland, John Ventimigia, Frank Wood.
Directed and written by: Noah Buschel
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Drama, Sports
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Original Theatrical Release Date: June 24, 2016
Video Release Date: August 30, 2016
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray (also available in DVD)
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Blu-ray
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RLJ Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
